21
votes
Accepted
Is Urban Dictionary an acceptable source?
UD is a source that is written by amateurs, and rated by amateurs. I've used it from time to time, but it's best when supplemented with other examples.
As for whether or not the UD is an "acceptable"...
- 58.1k
19
votes
Is Urban Dictionary an acceptable source?
Urban Dictionary can be a resource for slang phrases that are not in traditional dictionaries. However, it is not at all an authoritative source, since it is mainly an entertainment site. For ...
- 74.7k
18
votes
Accepted
How was an OED page made available free of charge?
That would be my comment, so let me explain.
Every single day, the OED has a new Word of the Day that it makes free to the world. Eventually, the whole OED will be free ;)
And in case anyone is ...
LaurelMod
- 58.7k
11
votes
Accepted
What sort of resource request questions do we accept on meta?
Requests for resources that help the community in doing research for better questions and answers should be on-topic on ELU meta.
This actually goes against our established SE policy that meta should ...
NVZMod
- 22.4k
9
votes
Internet resources to research frequency of usage of a word
It is not entirely clear from your question whether your problem with using Google Ngrams is that the data is not recent enough or that it is based on formal writing (books only), or both. But there ...
- 855
9
votes
Accepted
Is this Folk-Etymology Dictionary a reliable source?
I find Smythe Palmer’s dictionary almost impossible to use, in part because he presents the argument for a folk etymology in a deadpan way and only occasionally points out a fundamental flaw in that ...
- 152k
8
votes
How should the new Lexico-hosted Oxford dictionary be cited?
I would suggest we use the name they would prefer, that is Lexico.
However, I would advise against editing old posts just to rename the previous citations.
I previously used ODO or Oxford ...
NVZMod
- 22.4k
7
votes
Accepted
How do I avoid asking about mondegreens?
I think this kind of situation is rare enough that you don't have to take special steps to avoid it. You can just let people tell you about it in the comments. Once you learn that the question is ...
- 74.7k
6
votes
Is Urban Dictionary an acceptable source?
UD is a great source. A quick scan of the definitions give you a reliable definition of the term. Moreover, it also provides variant definitions, and the up/downvotes give you an idea of how many ...
- 2,036
6
votes
Usage of computer terms?
If you are trying to get a sense of the relative frequency over time of two or more alternative spellings, you may be interested in the Google Ngram tool, which reports on the frequency, year-by-year, ...
- 152k
5
votes
Internet resources to research frequency of usage of a word
Generally speaking, yes, resources do exist for researching historical word frequency (including contemporary frequency). Here, frequency is defined as
The number of times an event or character ...
- 32k
5
votes
Accepted
Dictionary that provides all correct usages of words
Short answer:
No, there's no perfectly correct dictionary, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) will probably get you what you want.
Longer answer:
There are a number of issues you bring up.
'...
- 69.1k
5
votes
Where can I ask for free proofreading?
I have a few very reliable sources.
Paper Rater
Grammar Check
Spell Check Plus
Polish My Writing
and finally
Online Correction
- 890
5
votes
Best online slang dictionary for old slang
Green's Dictionary of Slang is a highly regarded and well-curated dictionary that I would feel safe calling "the best online slang dictionary" in a holistic sense. The website is easy to use, and ...
- 22.1k
5
votes
Accepted
How to find uncommon synonyms
The meaning of the question seems clear to me (I say this as there seems to be some confusion in the comments): get all synonyms of the word in question, and return the ones that are least commonly ...
- 22.8k
5
votes
Where does it say that resources are off-topic on main?
Form the help centre's What types of questions should I avoid asking? page (I quoted only the relevant parts):
What types of questions should I avoid asking?
To prevent your question from being ...
- 7,060
5
votes
Where does it say that resources are off-topic on main?
Resource requests are "shopping list" questions, and are inherently unsuitable for all SE sites, not just EL&U. The reasons why are discussed on Meta and in a blog post by Jeff Atwood.
Summary ...
- 1,332
5
votes
Usage of computer terms?
There are a few starting points if you're making a decision about the usage of computer terms.
The Microsoft Writing Style Guide (formerly the Microsoft Manual of Style), which they pitch to people ...
- 33.3k
5
votes
Using internet search engines (Google/Yahoo) 'News' results to count frequency of a word
I've collated sites from the comments, and added one more. It's not clear to me how many of these include actual word-frequency counts.
Elephind: Search the world's historical newspaper archives.
...
- 37.6k
5
votes
Resources for finding early uses of words?
EL&U Meta's very own community-wiki-based question What good reference works on English are available? includes an answer headed "Historical Resources" that consists of sections devoted ...
- 152k
5
votes
What are the free resources to learn english online?
This answer is more relevant to English Language Learners and indeed it's well answered with lots of resources in the Meta on that site: Resources for learning English. Some of the resources mentioned ...
Andrew LeachMod
- 95.6k
4
votes
Where does it say that resources are off-topic on main?
The on-topic help page says what questions are welcome:
Questions on the following topics are welcomed here:
• Word choice and usage
• Grammar
• Etymology (history of words’ development)
• Dialect ...
Andrew LeachMod
- 95.6k
4
votes
Where can I ask for free proofreading?
Lang-8.com is a good volunteer-based proofreading portal.
It works on the principle of reciprocity: you proofread a guy or gal's posts in your language, they proofread writing in theirs. ...
- 3,644
4
votes
Would a question about a specific English language tool be on topic?
This seems like a reference or resource request. We don't allow them on the main site, but we do answer them here (i.e. english.meta). Just tag your quesiton resources
- 28.7k
3
votes
Where can I ask for free proofreading?
Give Typely a try. It is a free proofreading application that you can use right away. It has been featured on the frontpage of many news aggregators and is already stable and strong.
Our main focus ...
- 101
3
votes
Where can I ask for free proofreading?
You might try
englishforums.com
You'll need to create a free account. Click on "Forums", the rightmost item in the main menu and scroll down to
Essay, Report & Composition Writing
where you ...
- 44k
3
votes
Accepted
How can you search pronunciations of words on Youtube?
https://youglish.com/search/eczema
I remember the site because I once asked a question about the different pronunciations of eczema and @Atai Voltaire posted an answer that had a link to the site.
...
- 86.1k
3
votes
Usage of computer terms?
Sometimes you can learn about the usage of technical terms by Googling them. For example, you'll find that "checkbox" has more hits than "check box." Since you're asking for a specific resource, I ...
- 833
3
votes
Usage of computer terms?
You might want to consider a dictionary that's carefully curated and recent. The more recent it is the more likely newer terms will be listed and updated usage is covered. Careful curation is ...
- 7,060
3
votes
Is there a service to find out if my phrase is used online like corpora, but not exactly?
Google is usually my go to source for finding examples of specific expressions. You can enclose your expression in double quotes and it will make it match it verbatim. (Google Search’s number of hits ...
LaurelMod
- 58.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible